Posts by Jason Kemp

And that goes back to the discretion issues raised earlier. Some people do and they get caught but because they are not seen as “crims” they are ok.

Driving a Range Rover when not white is a high risk activity and it shouldn’t be. I.e. not everyone experiences (application of) the law in the same way. We need transitional thinking about upcoming policy changes as well as better recognition of the cultural nuances of law enforcement.

Legal people prefer some form of test of what discretion would be like. So I agree with Nick from earlier comments – but discretion can be codified and seems like there is an opportunity to do that as part of transition policy.

Lovely stuff. Being able to make things is wonderful and I trust that Leo carries on with that.

One of my family members was on the spectrum (actually more than one but another story) but since he grew up in NZ in the 40’s he just had to work out ways of working around the “noise”. I’m simplifying but I think it gets easier as people age although having some form of diagnosis helps everyone.

I was thinking that the porthole he had was performing music. It was the time when he was most connected to the rest of us. Having something like that as a connector could be useful.

I wondered if you had read the Steve Silberman book. “NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity” I have had it for a long time and almost finished it now.

I found it a useful survey of the history and how we have got to a more cohesive understanding of the wonderful possibilities and people.

But just wondering if you have looked at it. My perception is that there are plenty of human interactions that would benefit from a better understanding of all of this. Undiagnosed health issues are reflected often.

We say we are getting better at understanding all of this but it is still delicate to talk about in a work situation for example.

All the best for you and your family and yes there is still plenty of set design work in films. Perhaps less “in camera” work and more special effects but the core skills of being able to make and finish a miniature is a wonderful thing.

P.S the photo is of my tiny garden. The distinctive 4 leaf thing in the middle is a sunflower which will grow to about 2.5m.

In the US as I understand it the tax revenues and the lower costs of policing had been huge drivers for change. If the NZ number is in the order of $600m which I’d guess is a conservative estimate ( on the tax side) then that is quite persuasive. Surely there are things we can learn from Canada, Colorado, Portugal and wherever. And quite possibly Mexico soon.

There must also be export possibilities for NZ businesses. If NZ wants to create more higher paying jobs then we need branded and curated products as well as whatever else that comes along.

"Ten states and Washington, DC have now legalised marijuana for recreational use for adults over the age of 21. And 33 states have legalised medical marijuana."

As a parent I say untested and unregulated food / beverages / anything is a risk we shouldn't be needing to take. Lets accept that there are some downsides but regulation can mitigate a fair amount of that. Better to know the medical risks and actively manage those.

I watched an Anthony Bourdain story filmed in Seattle recently and Washington State look to be doing ok. But on legislations lets learn from the mistakes in the U.S states and elsewhere too.

Thanks for this. I found another recent story about the Ockham developer quite illuminating on how this all really works because the connections between land / building costs and markets is not that obvious to most of us.

In that story notes like this are explained and the need for a change to the formula (in part at least) which is what I'm taking from the Kiwibuild intervention policy.

"Greenfield developments like Hobsonville, says Todd, are part of the problem. "

The story goes on to make good points about housing density, shared spaces, better public infrastructure and the various tradeoffs to be had. If Kiwibuild can change the background equation on some of this by encouraging the market in a particular direction then we all benefit but it needs a long term perspective.

There is another event coming up which explores some of this with Dr Cornel West and someone called Douglas Murray whom I’ve never heard of.

I would rather hear just West talking about his work ( on class and race) plus his musical work with Bootsy Collins, Prince and others but this event does look like it provides a more considered format / forum for some of what has been discussed in this post. Event is presented by AUT and Loop.

Tantrums and chaos is the strategy and really that is not a strategy at all.

Blowing up a treaty with Iran because it was an Obama thing at the same time as making nice with North Korea is bizarro world.

I recently watched the Bourdain episode shot in Iran. Parts Unknown - Season 4- 7. It is remarkable. The locals know the difference between rhetoric and and their daily lives. A vast population in many ways being held to ransom by a small minority who do want to blow things up.

I'm not sure if we have ever had such a global tantrum circus amplified for this long ever. At one level the media is transfixed because it is all so absurd however this is not helping anyone.

Purposely conflating "illegal imigrants" with asylum seekers or other kinds of immigrants is disturbing in all kinds of ways.

How anyone can justify selling billions of arms to Saudi Arabia so they can crush a distressed nation to the South of them I don't know. Where to even start unravelling some of that?

I wonder if tantrum control measure are in place in the white house. How does one deal with a adult who behaves like that? I wish I knew the answer.

Thanks for the heads-up will look out for this programme. The longer I stay on this planet the more interesting it gets. We are all extraordinary and being able to get more insight from a well shared view is a great thing.